Interview with Romily Bernard & Giveaway

I graduated from Georgia State University with a Literature degree. Since then, I’ve worked as a riding instructor, cell phone salesgirl, personal assistant, groom, exercise rider, accounting assistant, and, during a very dark time, customer service rep. So don’t let anyone tell you a BA degree will keep you unemployed.

Cake! Especially if it comes in Ball jars. Have you guys seen that? It’s the world’s most perfect invention: cupcakes in jars. You eat what you want and put the rest in your purse for later. Also? Now your purse is heavy enough to be a weapon. It’s a multipurpose treat.

Biggest Pet Peeve?

Oh, man. I have to pick one? Probably, people who drive too slow in the fast lane

I have OCD—not the kind that’s compelled to organize your spice rack or sees germs running up and down people Matrix-style. I check locks, scrub baseboards, and pace circles. There are some benefits I guess. I get plenty of steps in when I hike across the house to touch the side door locks for the fifth time. In that way, it’s great exercise and prevents me from cheating with my pedometer by beating it against the tabletop until I get my 7000 steps for the day. Yes, you read that right. Apparently, the only thing I hate more than Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is not hitting my pedometer goal for the day. You would think, being OCD, cheating would bother me. You would think wrong. You’d also think I could stay on task. Where were we?

Disneyworld or Disneyland?

Disneyworld although I really want to go back to Disneyland because I didn’t get to ride the Indiana Jones ride and I’m still bummed about it.

Once Upon a Time or Revenge?

Dangit! I haven’t seen either of these so how about…Dexter!

Hi, Romily, thanks for stopping by YaReads today! Can you tell us about Find Me in five words or less?

Hi Nichole! Thanks so much for having me on YA Reads!

Teenage hacker trying to get out of the game gets blackmailed into finding a classmate’s rapist….okay that’s a lot more than five. Do I get extra points for overachieving?

What was your inspiration behind Find Me?

Technically, my inspiration was equal parts desperation (I had an agent who was interested in me, but I needed a new manuscript to give her) and raw ambition (I stumbled across Josin McQuein’s amazing pitch for PREMEDITATED over at QueryShark and decided I wanted to do thrillers too).

How long did it take you to write Find Me?

It took about ten months to write FIND ME and then Sarah Davies (remember that literary agent I was trying to impress in the above paragraph?) had revisions that took another four months.

What was your favorite scene to write?

I think my favorite scene is the very first one—where the cop is circling the house, trying to get in and Wick’s inside, scared to death. That was my very first brush with writing suspense and my critique partners were all like, “Where did that come from? You better finish it.” I do really love that last fight scene though. Creeps me out to think about being in Wick’s shoes.

Is FIND ME going to be part of a series or is it a standalone?

It’s a trilogy! I actually wrote FIND ME as a standalone, but HarperTeen asked for more and I thought, “Why not?” The sequel, REMEMBER ME, is out September 2014. I’m very lucky they believed enough in Wick and me to make such a commitment.

Right now I’m about 3 chapters into FIND ME, and I already find myself getting nervous and jumpy. Did you ever freak yourself out when you were writing it?

Yay!! And yes, I totally freaked myself out. I wrote a fair amount of FIND ME while home alone at night. Inevitably, one of my dogs would wake up, go to the closet, and growl. Every. Freaking. Time. Then I would reach for my baseball bat and realize I wasn’t Wick and I didn’t have a baseball bat and, if that was a murderer in my closet, I was toast.

What’s next for you? Any upcoming books that readers don’t know about?

REMEMBER ME’s next for me. It picks up a few months after FIND ME and deals with the fallout from the first novel. RM really gave me the opportunity to explore Wick’s darker side—the side she fights against in FM.

What is the best book you’ve read recently?

THIS IS NOT A TEST by Courtney Summers. I worship Summers. I think she is beyond amazing.

What is currently in your TBR pile?

Love this one. Let’s see…HER DARK CURIOSITY is on pre-order, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS is next to my bed as is an ARC of THE DREAM THIEVES (which Brad at Book YA Review was generous enough to send me). Then there’s THE LOST GIRL, IN THE AFTER, BRILLIANCE, THE LINCOLN LAWYER, GONE GIRL (because I want to read it again), and four different Dennis LeHane novels. And that’s just the bedside table. We won’t talk about the books in my car’s trunk, waiting to be smuggled into the house under the guise of “What new books? I’ve had these.”

Is there anything I didn’t ask you that you would like to share?

Nothing else to add other than how much I appreciate all the bloggers who have hosted FIND ME for the tour. Writers are nothing without bloggers and I’m so lucky to have you guys in my corner. Thanks again!

Find Me Blurb

“Find Me.” These are the words written on Tessa Waye’s diary. The diary that ends up with Wick Tate. But Tessa’s just been found…dead.
Wick has the right computer-hacking skills for the job, but little interest in this perverse game of hide-and-seek. Until her sister Lily is the next target. Then Griff, trailer-park boy next door and fellow hacker, shows up, intent on helping Wick.
Is a happy ending possible with the threat of Wick’s deadbeat dad returning, the detective hunting him sniffing around Wick instead, and a killer taunting her at every step?
Foster child. Daughter of a felon. Loner hacker girl. Wick has a bad attitude and sarcasm to spare.
But she’s going to find this killer no matter what.
Because it just got personal.